The Scientific Reason Some People Never Seem to Age

You know that friend of yours that is way past 21 but doesn’t look like it. The one that actually still gets carded every time you are out with her. Scientists have finally figures out what her deal is. No, it’s not just plastic surgery she secretly got and didn’t tell anyone.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School partnered with the DNA analysis company 23andMe to figure out why some people never age. They studied genetic data from 350 women from a variety of ethnic groups and ages. They then isolated the women they considered to be “exceptional skin agers,” the ones they thought to look younger than they actually were without plastic surgery.

During their first study the researchers focused on Caucasian and African-American women. They plan on studying more ethnicities in further studies.

They found that the genes in fact have a lot to do with looking younger. Everyone has thousands of genes in their DNA that focus on cell energy, skin formation, and antioxidant production, but “ageless” people express them differently, and often for longer while others peter out as they age. And that expression differs by race. They study found that women of African descent had skin that ages 10 years slower than Caucasian women. (Marie Claire)

The study that was sponsored by Olay, is that longest-ever study the beauty brand has done. They plan of using the results from the research to develop new anti-aging products that help “activate” these ageless genes for those who won the genetic lottery. All of the findings from the study will be presented at the annual World Congress of Dermatology in Vancouver.